Variable-speed-transmission mechanism



J. n m. VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION MECHANISM- APPLICA'HON FILED DEC.9| l9l5. RENEWED FEB. 7. 19l9.

Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

filing: aqs.

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tinuously,

JosErr-r new, or ivrorinvn, rnnmors, Assrenon T0 DEERE AND COMPANY, 015' MOLINE,

' v ILLINOIS.

vAItIABtn-srEEn- RANsMIssIoN MECHANISM;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

Application filed December a, 1915, Serial No. 65,911. Renewed February 7, 919. Serial No. 275,675. I

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, Josnrn: DAIN a citizen of the United States, residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Island, State of Illihave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Variable-Speed-Transmission Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to variable speed transmission mechanism, being especially designed for. securing a simple, strong, efii- :ient power transmission mechanism suitable for tractors and capable of being produced at a comparatively low cost. One of the objects of my invention is to produce a com pact variable speed mechanism capable of being used for this purpose so arranged and constructed as to occupy a minimum amount of space and as to be capable of being assembled ready for. use, and of being used conwithout the necessityffor delicate or diiiicult adjustments; Another object of 'my invention is to provide a mechanism of '25 this type whi h can be easily manipulated and controlled and which can be very quickly shifted from one speed to another.- Further objects of my invention are to provide im-' proved inechanlsm for relatively to its cooperating gear; to provide a new and improved construction and 'arrangement of parts by which the operator is positively prevented from -throwing-into otherwiseoccur by reason of improper ma nipulation of the mechanism, and to im prove transmission mechanism in sundry details means bywhich I have accomplished my several objects is illustrated in the accomanying drawing andis hereinafter specifically-described. That which IJbeheve to be new is set forth in the claims. a v

The drawing is substantially ahorizontal cross-section through the preferredform of my transmission mechanism as applied toa tractor, certain parts being in elevation. I

In the drawing, 10 indicates a frame having connected to it at -1ts forward end a motor 11 which may be of any suitable type,

.55 in the construction shown being in the formv changing from one 30 set of transmission gears to another set with out shifting the position of any one gear hereinafter pointed ou't. The preferred of an internal combustion engine. A circular drum 12 is fixedly connected in concentric position upon a plate 13 driven by the motor 11, which drum serves as an external clutch member, as hereinafter described. In the preferred embodiment of my invention as applied to a traction engine, the frame 10 serves as a connecting means between the motor and the transmission mechanism as hereinafter described; it will be understood, however,*that I do not wish to be restricted, except as hereinafter specifically claimed, to the use of a motor carried by or in close proximity to the frame 10, it being suflicient, broadly speaking, that the drum 12 shall be driven from asuitable source'of power, and for the purposes of this case said drum and the power mechanism by which it is rotated may be termeda prime mover.

14 indicates a shaft mounted in concentric position relatively tothe drum 12 ,bein'g supported at its forward end by an antiin the shaft l l andis held against movement longitudinally of the shaft in the opposite direction by means of a nut 17 secured upon w the rear'end of the shaft. i The anti-friction bearing 16 thus serves to receive both the lateralpressure'and'the end thrust of the shaft 1 1. 18 indicates 'a ,c ollar fixedly mounted upon the shaft 14 atan intermediate point therealong. vSlidably mounted upon the-forwardjend of the shaft. 14L is a sleeve19 which is caused by'feathers 20 to rotate with the shaft 1 L 'Links 21-22 are I pivotally mounted at their inner ends upon the sleeve 19 and are pivotally-connected at their outer ends with an internal clutch member comprising friction blocks or shoes 23-24, respectively. As will be seen from the showing in solid lines in the drawing,

when the sleeve 19 is moved to its rearmost position so as to cause the links 21 to extend outward approximately at right angles. to

the shaft 14, theshoes 23 -24: are brought into frictional engagement with 'a'fsuitable friction drivingsurface provided on the interior of' the drum 12, thus causing the shaft 14: to rotate with the drum 12 and serving to drive the bevelpinion 25 which in the construction shown is integral with the shaft 14. When, however, the sleeve 19 is moved to its-forward position upon the shaft 14, as indicated'in dotted lines, the friction shoes 23-24 are withdrawnout ofcontact with the drum whereby the drum is permitted to rotate independently of the shaft 14.

t Revolubly mounted upon the shaft 14 be- 7 tween the bevel pinion 25 and thecollar 18 is a sleeve 26. Slidably mounted upon the sleeve 26 is a second sleeve '27 which is caused 27 and the sleeve'26 to rotate with the drum 12, serving thus todrive a bevel pinion 33 Which in the construction shown is formed integrally with the sleeve 26. l Vlien, however, the sleeve 27 is in-its rearmost position as shown infsolid lines, the shoes 31-32 are held out of operative engagement with the drum 12 and the drum is permitted torotate independently of the sleeve 26 and thebjevel pinion 33. r

It will jbe notedthatj movement of the sleeves 19 and 27- in the same direction reversely operates the shoes 23 and 31, respec- I tively, and in order-to prevent the operative connection oft-he shaft'l4' and the sleeve 26 at the same time with thedrum 12, the slidably mounted sleeves 19 and 27 are con- ,nected together by means of-links- 34-35. The links 34-35 are pivotallyconnectedat their rear ends with the sleeve 27 uponthe same .aXlS as that upon which I the "links 29-30 are pivotally mounted. The forward endsof the links 34-35 are connected with the sleeve 19 'by'means of a two-part band orcollar 36 which is revolubly mounted in a suitable circumferential groove in the sleeve 19. The sleeves 19 and 27 are shifted longitudinally of the shaft 14 by'means of a'lever 37-pivotally mounted upon the frame 10 connected at its free end with a two-part band or'collar 38 revolubly mounted in a circumferential groove in the collar 27. The lever 37 is provided with a suitable handrlatch 39 of any suitable type adapted toengage a'rack 40,1whereby the sleeves-19-27 may be held in their rearmost position to drive the shaft 14, or in their .forward-position, so asto drive the sleeve 26, orgin an intermediateposition, in which case both sets of friction shoesare-freed from engagement with the drum 12. 1

pinion 33 can be driven pinion 25 tothe gear description in connection with the drawing it will be seen that either'the pinion 25 or the by power from the drum 12 as desired, the operatorbeing enabled by the use of the lever 37 to shift the two internal clutch members easily and almost instantaneously so as to drive either a through the set of driving elements comprising thepinion25 or through the other s'etof driving elements'comprising the pinion 33 and as said pinions and the devices through i which they are respectively connected with the drum 12are concentric with the axis of I said drum, the power is transmitted directly from the prime mover to said pinions, thereby avoiding loss of power-:and other objections incident to the use of the intermediate gearing, or other connections, necessary where straight line transmission can not be employed. My improved construction'also makes it practicable to employ cooperating friction clutch members of relatively great diameter as compared with the diameter of the pinions 25 and 33, so that great driving torque is obtained, and the coacting clutch members are not subjectedto undue strain;

The means for transmitting power from the pinions 25-33., comprises, in the embodiment of my invention illustrated, a transversely-extendingshaft 41 mounted in suitable bearings ,42-43upon the frame 10 at right angles to the. shaft 14. Gears 44-45 are mounted on a common axis, i'. e'.,with

their axes alined, in the constructionshown a said gears being revolubly mounted upon the shaft 41 so as to mesh-with the bevel pinion,

33 at opposite sides thereof. @The gear45 is also provided with an annular gear. 46 which 7 meshes with the bevel pinion 25.1 As will be readily understood, when power is applied from the drum 12 through the sleeve 26 to the bevel pinion 33, the gears 44 and-45 will be rotated by the pinion 33in opposite directions about the shaft 41, the engagement of the gear 46 with the pinion 25 causing the shaft 14 to run idly. Upon the shiftingof the power from the pinion 33 to the pinion 25 by the 37 as above described, the gear 45 will be driven at .a comparatively higherspeed of rotation, the higher speed being attained by reason of the fact that the gear 46 through which the power is then applied is of a smaller diameter thanthatof the gear 45. When power is applied thus through the 46', the gear 44 is also driven at the same'speed but in the opposite direction-by reasonof being effectively connected with thegear 46 through the gear45 and the intermeshi-ng pinion 33;- '7 The "means .shownrr for applying power from the gears44-45-46 comprises a driven memberrin the form of a'heavy gear '47 mountedupon the shaft 4l iand adapted to be :moved freely longitudinally thereon proper manipulation of the lever Clutch members 4849 are provided at opposite ends of the hub of the gear 47 adapted to engage respectively with suitable clutch members 5051 carried by the gears A ia-45. With the gear 47 in the position shown in the drawing, the gears 4:4 i5 are adapted to rotate without affecting thegear 47. Upon the movement of the clutch member 49 into engagement with the clutch member 51, the gear 47 will be driven with the gear at either its high speed movement or its low speed. movement according to the position of the lever 37, as above described. Upon the movement of the clutch member 48 into en-* gagement with the clutch member 5O, the

gear 4&7 will be driven in the opposite direc: tion at either the high speed or the low speed rate of rotation, depending upon the position of the lever 37.

The means provided for shifting the gear 47 and its clutch members 48"4I9 independently of the shaft 41 comprises a bifurcated arm 52, the forward ends of the arms of which engage suitable circumferential g'roovesin the hub of the'gear 47. The arm 52 is revolubly mounted at its-rear end upon a rock shaft 53, but .is held against longitudinal movement relatively to the rock sha-ft 53. A lug 54: carried by the rock-shaft 53 is adapted to engage any one ofav plurality of notches of a rack 55 carried by the frame. 10.

Whenever it is desired to shift the gear 47' longitudinally of the shaft 41, the rock-shaft 53'is turned'to carry the lug 5 out of engagement with therack 55, whereupon the rock-shaft 53 can be moved longitudinally of itself to bring the gear 47 into the desired clutching engagement. The rock-shaft 53 can then be turned into position to bring the lug 5.4 into engagement with the rack 55 for holding the rock-shaft 53 and the gear 4:? in the desired adjusted position. In the construction shown, the gear 47 is in mesh with a large gear 56 suitably mounted upon the framework. 3

So far as I am aware, I am the first in the art to transmit power from a prime mover to a driven member by transmission mechanism comprising speed changing gearing,- such as a plurality of gears of different diameter, or a gear having a plurality of series of concentric teeth,and pinions constantly in mesh with said gearing, combined with means concentric with the axis of the prime mover, for separately connecting either of said pinions directly with the prime mover and disconnecting the other therefrom practically instantaneously and without gear shifting; also to provide for effecting speed changes, through such transmission mechanism by the operation of a single lever. I

also believe myself to be the first to provide such a transmission mechanism with means for driving the driven member either in a forward or in a reverse direction.

v gears respectively, member for each of said pinions and rotata- What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A variable speed mechanism comprising a plurality of concentric gears of differfaces, unidirectional independently rotating.

friction clutch members connected respectively with said pinions and adapted to be alternatively connected with the prime mover, and unitary control means operatively connecting said independently rotating friction clutch members and adapted to beoperatedto connect thesame alternatively with the prime mover. w

2. A transmission mechanism comprising two concentric gears of different diameter, two pinions constantly in mesh with said gears respectively, a driven friction clutch member for each of said pinions and rotatable independently of each other, a driving friction clutch member adapted to cooperate with either ofsaid driven clutch members to drive the same, andmeans connecting said driven clutch members and, adapted to be operated to connect either of them with said driving clutch member and simultaneously to disconnect the other therefrom.

3. A transmission mechanism comprising two concentric gears of different diameter, two pinions constantly in: mesh with said a driven friction clutch bleindependently of each-other, a driving friction clutch member adapted to cooperate with either of said driven clutch members to drive the same, and=a unitary operating device operatively connected with both said driven clutch members and adapted to be operated to move either of said driven clutch members into operative engagement with said driving. clutch member, andsimultaneously move the other driven clutch: member .out of engagement therewith.

. f. A transmission mechanism comprising .a driving friction clutch member, two independently rotatable driven clutch members adapted to be moved into or out of operative engagement with said driving clutch member, means connecting said driven clutch members and adapted to be operated to engage one of said driven clutch members with ,said driving clutch member and substantially coincidently disengage the other therefrom, pinions constantly having driving connection with said driven clutch members respectively, and concentric gears of dif-' ferent diameter constantly meshing with said pinions respectively.

V 5. A transmimion mechanism comprising two concentric gears of different diameter, two pinions constantly in mesh with said gears respectively, a shaft connected with one of Said pinions, a sleeve-loosely mounted on said shaft and connected with the other pinion, two-expanding friction clutch members mounted to rotate respectively with said shaft and sleeve, a driving friction clutch member adaptedto cooperate with said ex panding clutch members, an operating lever, and oppositely acting. devices actuated by said lever for alternatively moving either of said expanding clutch members into or out of operative engagementwith said driving clutch member. a

6. A transmission mechanism comprising two oppositely-disposed rotary gears adapted to rotateabout a common axis, one of said gearshaving a plurality of COIlCQIliJIlQ serles .gear mounted concentrically with. said firstmentioned gears and arranged to be operatively connected with either thereof,

7. A transmission mechanism comprising oppositely-disposed rotary members adapted to rotate about a common: axis, a driven member mounted concentrically with said rotary members, andarrange d to be sepia ratelyflconnected with eitherfof said rotary members, a prime 'mover, mechanism including a plurality of friction clutch devices associated with said prime mover'and operating through said rotary members for rotating said driven member in either direction at'a plurality of speeds without varying the speed or direction of the prime mover and unitarily operable means for simultaneously operating said clutch devices reve-rsely with relation. to each other. p

8. The combination of a shaft, two gears revolubly mounted thereon, a-pinion between said two gears and'meshing with both of themfor driving them in opposite directions, a driven member mounted upon saijdsha'ftbetween said two gears, clutching mechanisms for connecting said driven member with either of said two gears, a bifurcated arm engaging suitable circumferential grooves in said driven member, a rock shaftupon which said armjis revolubly mounted, means for holding said arm against movement longitudinally of said rock-shaft, =a'lug car ried by-said rock-shaft, and arack adapted to engage said lug for holding the rock-shaft and the said driven member against movement longitudinally V of said first-named shaft, said lug being adapted by a suitable rocking ofthe rock-shaft to be freed from said rack for an adjustment of said driven member. 1

9'. The combination of a frame, a prime mover revolub'ly' mounted onsaid frame, a drum secured to said prime 'mover and adapted to be'rotated thereby inconcentric position relativelyito the axis ofrota'tion of said prime mover, a shaft having one end axis ofrotation, a'frictionclutch mounted 'on said shaft serving when in operation to 'revolu'bly mounted insaid drum upon its brace said drum relatively to said shaft, a' bevel pinion revoluble with saidssha ftfa bevel gear meshing with said bevel: .plmon tending to thrust said shaft when inoperation longitudinally toward said drum, and an anti-friction bearing on said frame for said shaft serving to hold'the shaft in aline-' mcnt' with'r the :normal axis of rotationof the drum and to hold the shaft against movement longitudinally of itself.

, JosEPI-I DAIN.

Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,413,217,,granted April 18, 1922, upon the application of Joseph Dain, of Moline, Illinois, for an improvement in Variable-Speed-Transmission Mechanism, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 4, line 25, claim 6, for the Word member read members," and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of May, A. D., 1922.

[SEAL.] KARL FENNING,

. Acf/in g Commissioner of Patents. 

